Shipping and display carton



Aug. 21, 1962 H. E. COHANE ETAL 3,050,230

SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CARTON Filed July 10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS. HARRY E. CO HANE L .225. j HERBERT J. HOWARD ATTORNEYS 1962H. E COHANE ETAL 3,050,230

SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CARTON Filed July 10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS.

HARRY E. COHANE HERBERT J. HOWARD aw M ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 21, 1.962

3,050,239 SHEPPING AND DHSPLAY CARTON Harry E. Cohane and Herbert J.Howard, Toledo, Ohio,

assignors to Penetray Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of OhioFiled July 10, 1961, Ser. No. 123,059 4 Claims. ('31. 22939) Thisinvention relates to shipping and display cartons and more particularlyto a shipping and display carton intended for dual usage as a protectivecarton for breakable articles of merchandise and as a display carton forsuch articles of merchandise wherein the articles of merchandise may beheld in display position on a counter or self of a store by the cartonin which they are both shipped to the store and carried away from thestore by the customer. For purposes of illustration, a modificationintended for the shipment and display of electric lightbulbs will bedescribed.

It is the principal object of the instant invention to provide a simple,lightweight shipping carton comprising essentially a hollow tubular orelongated jacket or sleeve and a tray adapted to be inserted into thejacket for the purpose of mounting an article of merchandise in theinterior of the jacket for protecting the item of merchandise duringshipping or handling, the tray also being adapted to be adjustablypositionable in the jacket at at least one second position wherein thetray is located at the upper end of the jacket so as to display thearticle of merchandise above the jacket.

More specific objects and advantages of the invention will be betterunderstood from the specification which follows and from the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a carton embodying the invention asdesigned for the shipping and display of an electric lightoulb, thecarton being shown in the display position;

FIG. 2 is a transverse, vertical sectional view of the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in FIG. 1 and showing the article of merchandise,in this case a lightbulb, with its supporting tray located in theinterior position wherein the outer jacket protects the lightbulb duringshipping and handling;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a blank of sheet material as cut and creasedfor the folding of a tray constituting one of the two basic elements ofthe combination embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective showing the blank illustrated in FIG. 3in partially folded condition and illustrating how structural bracingand support members are positioned relative to each other in thispartially folded condition; and

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective illustrating the tray forming blank ofFIG. 3 folded beyond the condition illustrated in FIG. 4 and furtherillustrating how the final fold is made to position a retaining tab tohold the folded tray together as a unitary structure.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings andspecfiically described in the following specification is intended forthe purpose of storing, displaying and protecting electric lightbulbsand is illustrated as having a rectilinear cross section, it will beappreciated, of course, that modifications in the particular shape andsize of both the jacket and tray which embody the invention readily maybe made and are determined only by the size and configuration of thearticle of merchandise to be protected or displayed thereby.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings,a hollow, rectilinear jacket lil is illustrated as being constructedfrom a sheet material having a smooth exterior side 11 and a corrugatedinterior side 12, the corrugations 13 thereof extending laterally aroundthe inner wall of the jacket 10. In this specific embodiment of theinvention, the jacket 10 is formed by folding a single sheet ofone-surface corrugated material with its corrugations l3 turnedinwardly, four folds being made and the free edges of the first andfourth folds being joined as for example by an adhesive strip (notillustrated) or by overlapping or other means. The essentialconsideration in the design of the jacket 10* is, of course, that ithave some form of rib-like projections such as the corrugations 13 onits inner surface and that there be a suflicient number of such rib-likeprojections to provide for at least two positions of an interior tray,generafiy indicated by the reference number 14 and shown in almostcompletely folded condition in FIG. 5.

The exterior surface 11 of the jacket 10 may, of course, be decoratedwith suitable advertising messages or pictures relating to theparticular article of merchandise which is to be displayed and/orshipped in a carton embodying the invention. In the particularmodification illustrated in the drawings, such pictures and words wouldrelate to a lightbulb generally indicated by the reference number 15.

The tray 14 in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in thedrawings is constructed by folding from a single sheet generallyindicated by the reference number 16 in FIG. 3, and comprising a numberof individual portions each of which is delineated by cuts or creasesformed at the time of blanking the sheet 16 in the configurationillustrated in FIG. 3. These portions include a bottom forming portion17, a shelf forming portion 18, a first side forming portion 19, a topforming portion 20, a second side forming portion 21 and a retaining tab22. The blank in the particular modification illustrated in FIG. 3 alsoincludes a shelf support portion 23, a pair of oppositely configured andarranged shelf supports and braces 24 and 25, a pair of top flaps 26, abottom flap 27 and two lips 28 and 29 which in this embodiment areintegral with and protrude laterally from the bottom forming portion 17.

In this embodiment of the invention, it is the lips 28 and 29 whichcooperate with the corrugations 13 on the interior of the jacket 10 toadjustably retain the tray 14 in the interior of the jacket 10 in twopositions, of which the first is the upper position for display purposesillustrated in FIG. 1, and the second is the lower position for shippingpurposes illustrated in FIG. 2. It should be observed in FIG. 3 that thetop forming portion 20 has a central opening 30 with a plurality of cuttabs 31 around its edges and the shelf forming portion 18 has a centralopening 32 which, when the tray 14 is folded, is aligned with theopening 30 in the top 20. The openings 39 and 32 are so shaped and ofsuch size as to accept, respectively, a conical portion 33 of thelightbulb 15 and its base 34 (see FIG. 2).

The particular tray 14 illustrated in the drawings is formed by foldingthe blank 16 of FIG. 3 in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.Reference to FIG. 4 shows that the first fold should be along a pair ofcreases 35 which join the two supports and braces 24 and 25 to oppositesides of the tray portion 18. By folding supports and braces 24 and 25in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4, two downwardly extending legs 36are created. The next fold is along a crease 37 which joins the shelf 18with one side of the shelf support 23 and the next fold is along acrease 38 which joins an opposite side of the shelf support 23 to oneedge of the bottom 17. At this point the blank 16 has been partiallyfolded into the condition illustrated in FIG. 4 with the shelf 18 nowextending parallel to and spaced above the bottom 17, being supported insuch position by the shelf support 23 and 3 the two legs 36 alreadydescribed. In FIG. 4, the retaining tab 22 is also shown as being bentupwardly somewhat along a crease 39 joining the tab 22 to the secondside forming portion 21.

Subsequent to the condition illustrated in FIG. 4, the blank 16 isfurther folded to erect the shelf 14. These folds include folding up thebot-tom flap 27 along its creases 40 leaving the lip 28 protrudinglaterally from the bottom 17 and co-planar therewith because of a. cut41 which delineates the lip 28 from the material of the bottom flap 27.Similarly, by folding the first side forming portion 19 upwardly, asindicated by the sweeping broken line arrow in FIG. 5, along creases 42joining it to the bottom 17, and because of a cut 43, the second opposedlip 29 is left co-planar with the bottom 17 to protrude from the side ofthe bottom 17 opposite to the lip 28.

In subsequent stages, the top forming portion 20 is folded over on acrease line 44 which joins it to the first side portion 19, asillustrated in FIG. 5, and its flaps 26 are folded downwardly on theircrease lines 45. The flaps 26, of course, are not essential to thestructure but in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, theseelements have been added for purposes of further strengthening the tray14. After the top 29 is swung into the position of FIG. 5, the centralopening 3%) therein is aligned with the opening 32 in the shelf 18.

The second side forming portion 21 isthen folded downwardly on a crease46 joining it to the top 20 and the retaining tab 22 swung around andinserted through a receiving opening 47 which is formed when the flap 27is bent upwardly and, which is defined by the out line 41 whichdelineates the lip 28 from the bottom 17. The retaining tab 22 isslightly keystone-shaped in configuration and has two shoulders 48 whichare wider than the width of the opening 47 so that when the tab 22 isinserted through the opening 47 the shoulders 48 snap beyond the flap 27to retain the tab 22 in place.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, thelightbulb 15 is inserted downwardly through the opening 30, depressingthe tabs 31 as illustrated in FIG. 2 and its base 34 is screwed into theopening 32 in the shelf .18 to retain the lightbulb 15 in the tray 14.The lips 28 and 29 have a maximum overall outer dimension slightlygreater than the minimum inner dimension laterally across the jacketbetween the ribs of the corrugation 13. The dimensions of the lips 28and 29 and the bottom 17 are, of course, also less than the maximumlateral dimension between valleys of the corrugations in the jacket 10.Thus, the lips 28 and 29 function as displaceable retaining means beingratcheted, as it were, along the corrugations 13 for moving the traybetween its upper position of FIG. 1 and its lower position of FIG. 2 orin any intermediate positions as may be desired. This same frictionalengagement between the lips 28 and 29 and the corrugation 13, of course,retains the tray 14 in any of its adjusted positions depending uponwhether or not the lightbul'b is being displayed as in FIG. 1 or shippedor handled as in FIG. 2.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A shipping and display carton for articles of merchandise, saidcarton comprising, in combination, a tubu- 13.1 jacket havinghorizontally extending spaced ridges around the interior thereof in atleast two zones, a tray having exterior lateral dimensions and planconfiguration generally mated to the interior lateral dimensions andplan configuration of said jacket, said tray having a body comprising aflat platform top, at least one lower cross member parallel to said topand spaced side walls connecting said top and cross member, at least onelip on said body protruding horizontally outwardly beyond said sidewalls for engagement with said ridges in said zones for retaining saidtray in at least two different positions within said jacket, the firstof said positions being with said top of said tray near one end of saidjacket and the other of said positions being with the bottom of saidtray near the other end of said jacket, and means for removablyretaining an article of merchandise on said tray with a major portionthereof above said top, said jacket having a height at least about equalto the total height of said tray and said article of merchandise mountedthereon.

2. A shipping and display carton according to claim 1 in which the trayis folded from a single piece of sheet material cut and creased fordelineating a bottom portion having a plan size and configurationadapted to extend laterally across the jacket, at least two sideportions joined along their edges to different edges of said bottomportion, the lips being integal and co-planar with the bottom portionand extending beyond the edges thereof, a top portion joined along itsedge to at least one of said side portions, a third side portion equalin height to at least one of said first and second side portions andjoined along a first edge to one edge of said top portion, a retainingta'b joined to said third side portion at a second edge thereof, and aslot cut in one of said portions other than said third side portion forreceiving said retaining tab.

3. A shipping and display carton according to claim 1 in which the trayhas a parallel top and bottom and an intermediate shelf parallel theretoand spaced therebetween and said bottom having the laterally protrudinglips.

4. A shipping and display carton according to claim 1 in which the trayis folded from a single piece of sheet material cut and creased fordelineating a bottom portion having a plan size and configurationadapted to extend laterally across the jacket, a shelf having a planconfiguration similar to said bottom, at least one shelf supportingportion extending normally to said shelf and said bottom when folded,one of said shelf supporting portions being joined to a first edge ofsaid bottom and to said shelf along parallel edges thereof, a topportion, a side forming portion joined to said bottom along a secondedge thereof and to a first edge of said top along a parallel edge, asecond side forming portion joined along a first edge thereof to saidtop along a second edge of said top parallel to the first said edge ofsaid top, said two side forming portions extending normally to said topand bottom when folded, at least one of said top, shelf and bottomfunctioning as a support member for said tray with said lips integal andco-planar with and extending laterally from opposite edges of saidsupport member, a retaining tab joined to said second side formingportion along a part of a second edge thereof and a slot for saidretaining tab cut in a vertically extending element of said tray at theside of said bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,712,840 Povel May 14, 1929 1,958,257 Addis et a1. May 8, 19342,197,510 Ringler Apr. 16, 1940 2,883,047 Casdell Apr. 21, 1959

